DEM GROUPS FILE LAWSUIT OVER ABSENTEE BALLOT "CURES": Several Democratic groups sued on Tuesday demanding that North Carolina block a provision requiring residents to cast their vote over from scratch if a witness fails to sign or provide an address on the envelope containing their absentee ballot. State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said in a memo last month that envelopes lacking a witness name, signature or address are declared “spoiled," and a new ballot must be mailed to the voter. The requirement violates the state constitution, in part because it places an undue burden on the right to vote for those without the required witness information, the lawsuit filed in Wake County court says. It argues that the registered voter could miss out on voting due to delays in receiving a new ballot.
https://www.wral.com/democratic-groups-sue-to-seek-fixes-for-more-nc-ballots/19276442/

NC HOSPITALIZATIONS DUE TO COVID 19 ARE DOWN TO 830: At least 176,901 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 2,890 have died, NC DHHS reported. The number of completed COVID-19 tests increased by 32,079 Sunday to 2,442,950. About 6% of the tests were positive as of Saturday, the latest date available. The number of those in the state hospitalized for COVID-19 decreased by one on Sunday to 830, according to DHHS. The last time the COVID-19 hospitalization numbers were so low was on June 16, when 829 people were hospitalized. Hospitalizations continued to increase thereafter and peaked at 1,236 on July 29.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article245530830.html

DURHAM POLICE DREW GUNS ON 3 CHILDREN AT APARTMENT COMPLEX: More than 100 people came together Friday night to speak out after Durham police officers recently drew their guns on a group of Black children at an apartment complex. Three children — ages 9, 11 and 15 — were playing tag at Rochelle Manor Apartments when five officers pointed guns at them and told them to freeze, two of the children have told media outlets about the Aug. 21 incident. Officers handcuffed the 15-year-old boy, they said. “I don’t want to have to be scared when I go outside,” Jaylin Harris, the 15-year-old, told those gathered outside Durham City Hall on Friday. “I want to be free.” In a statement Sunday, Police Chief C.J. Davis expressed remorse and said officers had approached the children with their guns drawn because they were responding to a report of a man with a gun who had been involved in an earlier shooting.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article245502800.html

BERGER'S "RELIEF" PACKAGE RAISES INCOME ELIGIBILITY FOR PRIVATE SCHOOL VOUCHERS: Senate leader Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, said parents are at “their wit’s end.” The checks, which are being called “extra credit grants,” would be given to parents who filed taxes. For those who didn’t file, they would be able to apply for the grant, which is a flat amount regardless of how many children are in the household. $335 checks would be issued by Dec. 15. Part of the proposed bill also includes raising income-eligibility caps for opportunity scholarships, which are vouchers for private school. Republican leaders have said private schools opening for all-in-person learning this school year are an important school choice for parents. The state reopened in Plan B, which allows local school systems to decide how to operate with remote or a mix of remote and in-person learning with restrictions.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article245416500.html

FITNESS CENTERS OPEN IN DEFIANCE OF PHASE 2 RESTRICTIONS: Planet Fitness is reopening some gyms in North Carolina this week, despite a coronavirus executive order that keeps gyms closed. Crunch Fitness is also reopening gyms, ABC11, The News & Observer’s news partner, reported. And O2 Fitness says on its website that several locations in North Carolina are open as of Aug. 28. A spokesperson for Gov. Roy Cooper, Dory MacMillan, said in an email that Cooper would talk Tuesday about the next phase of easing restrictions on businesses, which would take effect later this week. The changes would come a week earlier than previously announced. A state Justice Department letter in June said indoor gyms should be open to people who use them as part of a medical treatment plan. Planet Fitness told members it will not require members to show documentation of medical need.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article245378940.html